Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-01-21
NOrwaIk Vineyards.


NOrwaIk Vineyards.
NoRwALK, CAL, January 20, 1887
EDITOR HERALD: Influenced somewhat
by noticing in the columns of the HER.
ALB that the distinguished writer. Maj.
Ben Truman, is engaged in writing up
for the N. Y. Times the viticultural and
wine statistics of California, your CORES.
pondent has recently visited large
number of the vine growers and wine
makers adjacent to Norwalk, and has
accumulated such large number of in.
teresting facts that it is difficult to con-
dense them into communication OF
reasonable length. In the first place ii
is universally claimed hat the yield OF
| grapes to the acre in this region
is Just about double that of any other
section of Southern California, and that
the wine made from the best wine grapes
is equal to that made in the most lauded
regions of the foothills. The fact that
the wines made here command the high.
est market price corroborate this state
ment, and the further fact that the raj.
sins cursd by Mr.. Baker last year OF
Muscat grapes grown in his vineyard,
close by Norwalk, exhibited along .ide
of the choicest raisins from Pasadena,
Santa Ana, Riverside, and dozen other
places, were pronounced by the judges
| the largest and sweetest of all, ths only
| stint of praise being that they were a
little off color. This confirms the claim
that this section is for excellence as well
as quantity the superior home of the
grape. Fair vineyard samples of this
superlative region may be seen in Mr..
Bakers vineyard half mile west OF
| town. Heberle's One-half mile south,
B ems two miles southwest, and Buch-
| ARDS three miles north. Bien has sold
the bulk of his crop, sixty two tons
| from twenty acres, at S39 PER ton, real.
lizing Sl2O. 40 per acre. His varieties
are the Golden Chasselas, Charbonaux,
Riesling, Berger AMI Mission, of which
he favors the Golden Chasselas. with
which variety he will enlarge his vine
yard this year. The three other vine-
yards above named have produced in the
wineries of the propristors 5000 gallons
from l05 acres, or exactly 500 gal.
| Ions per acre, which at 20 cents
per gallon gives sl6O per acre. Allow.
ing for cost of production, including in.
terest on the money originally invested
in the land and wineries. the very liberal
sum of $50 per acre, it will be seen that
these vineyards are yielding to their
| owners ten per cent income upon the
large valuation of $1,000 per acre. Mr..
Baker points to an acre of Mission
| vines sixteen years old which gave him
this season an average yield of one hun.
dred pounds of grapes to each vine; and
to several vines which yielded one hun.
dred and fifty pounds to the vine. Mr..
Buchard's vines, twenty five years old,
are just about as prolific. 1t is doubtful
if any other section of the State can
make an equal showing, and it should
be borne in mind that these enormous
yields are secured without irrigation.
As to quality French connoiseurs
have pronounced the Charbonaux wines
| of Heberle and those made by Buchard
from Rose of Piru grapes equal to some
of the best imported brands, and un-
doubtedly the white wines made in
either of the three wineries mentioned,
from the Rieslipg grape, is superior to
| most of the white wines imported into
this country.
The pleasantest feature Of the grape
culture in this section consists, however,
| in the uniform profits derived. Every
person who has engaged in the business
has made not only good living for
himself and family, but has also ac-
cumulated money, beside increasing 6
the market value of his land
five to ten fold. This is in
marked contrast to the experience of DR..
Conger, of Pasadena, who, it will be re.
membered, in public speech before the
Viticultural Convention in Los Angeles
last year, declared that he had been cul-
tiyating his vineyard in that section OF
country in the most thorough and i'm.
proved manner for eleven years, but had
not made single cent out OF it. Here
the vinegrowers are SO we'll satisfied that
the score or more with whom l have
conversed, with the single exception OF
Mr.. Buchard, propose to increase their
acreage as rapidly as possible, and In
variably with the classes of grapes which
have been proved best ada 1ted to the
soil and climate of this loca..
|ity, not merely in the quantity
but especially in the quality OF the wine
produced. Mr.. Buchard considers his
orange orchard more profitable and
therefore proposes to increase that in
stead of extending his vineyard, and ap
parently with some reason. He has
now about 1000 trees. about four-tifths
of which are in full bearing. from which
| he estimates he will gather this year NOT
lless than nine thousand boxes. for which
he has refused an offer of $l.25 per bo,
on the trees. 1t must be confessed thai
slI, ,256 is q snug income from only abou
five acres Of orange trees. Tht
most of the orange crop OF thl
vicinity has been contracted fer at 81 y
per box. In this connection 1t shoule
be stated that the orange crop In thi'
/ locality has not been affected in tn
least by the frosts. !.
I cannot conclude without allusion t
the ancient vineyard of Mr.. +
, Poyoreno, little less than three mile
: north of this place. The vines, cover
ing ten acres, were transplanted in ls45
, then in full bearing. from the Coyotes t
| their present field. and are still in pre-
4 life bearing. In venerable fertilit
8 they are matched only by several ia
e pear trees close by, more than hal
. century old, which bore a crop thl
1 wear larger than the limbs unsupporte